Transcript of "Nazi Persecution Disabilities"

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Nazi Persecution: On Disabled By: Timmy Stephen

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“ Euthanasia” Program <ul><li>eu·tha·na·sia [yoo-thuh-ney-zhuh] -n. The act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition </li></ul><ul><li> “ painless death” </li></ul>

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<ul><li>In 1939, Adolf Hitler initiated a decree which empowered physicians to grant a &quot;mercy death&quot; to &quot;patients considered incurable </li></ul><ul><li>The intent of this program was NOT to relieve the suffering of the program BUT to exterminated the mentally ill and handicapped, “cleansing the Aryan race” </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Then carbon monoxide gas became the preferred method of killing. This led to the creation of the first gas chambers. </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Hitler's regime continued to send to physicians and the general public the message that mental patients were &quot;useless eaters&quot; and life unworthy of life </li></ul><ul><li>Doctors were encouraged to decide on their own who should live or die, Killing became part of hospital routine as patients were put to death by: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Starvation </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Poisoning </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>injections </li></ul></ul>Buses used to transport patients to Hadamar euthanasia center. The windows were painted to prevent people from seeing those inside. Germany, between May and September 1941.

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<ul><li>Thousands of mental patients were killed in Poland, Russia, and East Prussia by SS and other special police units from the invading Germany </li></ul>

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In December of that year and January of the following, 1,558 patients from Polish asylums were gassed in gas vans by the SS.

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<ul><li>In all, between 200,000 and 250,000 mentally and physically handicapped persons were murdered from 1939 to 1945 under the “Euthanasia” programs. </li></ul><ul><li>Killings even continued in some of Germany's mental asylums weeks after Allied troops had occupied surrounding areas. </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Records discovered after the war documented 70,273 deaths by gassing at the six &quot;euthanasia&quot; centers between January 1940 and August 1941 </li></ul><ul><li>All Jewish mental patients were killed regardless of their ability to work or the seriousness of their illness. </li></ul>

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<ul><li>Yes, there were some people who tried to stop “euthanasia” programs.A handful of church leaders, local judges, physicians, and parents of victims protested </li></ul><ul><li>One psychiatrist and his son, a Protestant minister urged church groups to pressure church-run institutions not to release their disabled patients to the authorities </li></ul>